County apple growers look to add hard cider crop

Published: Thursday, June 20, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, June 19, 2013 at 6:42 p.m.

The press is on for cider production in Henderson County. Several local entrepreneurs plan to ferment county apples into hard cider for a thirsty buying public, while other area apple growers look forward to sourcing their crop to a growing craft beverage market.

One local winery, Saint Paul Mountain Vineyard on Chestnut Gap Road, has already produced 1,000 gallons of fermented cider, using apples pressed by local farmer Wayne Barnwell. They plan to increase production to 3,000 gallons next year and hope other county growers will follow their lead, said owner Alan Ward.

“There’s a lot of potential for people to not just jump in on the gold rush, but to make this area like Vermont, where hard ciders are made correctly,” said Ward, who sees cider-making as an important piece Henderson County’s agritourism future.

As Saint Paul begins bottling their debut batch next weekend, other local growers are investigating their own hard cider operations, looking to tap into a ripening market for adult craft beverages partly brought on by Sierra Nevada and Oskar Blues brewery expansions.

Mark Williams, executive director of Agribusiness Henderson County, said he’s advised a number of county farmers interested in adding value to their crop by turning it into hard cider.

“I’ve helped with the initial process to get folks off and running,” Williams said. “We may see two (cider producers) this coming year, and over the next couple of years, we might see potentially as many as half a dozen — some larger, some smaller. There’s a learning curve there, as people pursue a new product line.”

Ralph Webster of Freeman Orchards said his family is considering adding a hard cider operation to their bustling apple orchard, cooler and retail/wholesale business, but has “no formal plans yet.” Webster said a test batch of hard cider they produced turned out “pretty fair.”

“It would just give us another avenue for our fruit, if that’s what we decide on doing,” he said.

A new company in Asheville, Noble Cider, is already sourcing its apples from county orchards. Co-owner Trevor Baker said the company bought 640 bushels of Henderson County apples last year, producing 2,000 gallons of its kegged Summer Blend. They hope to increase their yield five-fold this year, to 10,000 gallons.

Baker said he’s “committed to buying from Henderson County,” adding he’ll need about 150 to 200 bins of processing apples this year. While last spring’s crop failure made sourcing difficult, Baker said the company scrounged up enough Mutsu Crispins, Pink Ladies and four other varieties to press a good inaugural run at its small Fletcher facility.

“People are really loving it,” Baker said, adding that the company can barely keep its seven outlets supplied with enough cider to meet demand.

This year, he’s hoping to find more GoldRush apples, “which has a good balance of acid and sugar and has really good flavor characteristics that transfer well into hard cider.” But he also hopes to develop local sources for heirloom apple varieties not commonly grown for eating or baking, but perfect for cider: Arkansas Blacks, Newtown Pippins and Golden Russets among them.

“The things we lack around here are the higher-tannin fruits,” Baker said. “There’s no one growing hard cider apples in any quantity here. So that’s one dilemma we have.”

Baker, who studied cider-making under British guru Peter Mitchell, is working with Henderson County extension agents to remedy that supply issue. After meeting with the board of the Blue Ridge Apple Growers this spring, Baker and County Extension Director Marvin Owings Jr. brainstormed a plan to grow cider varieties for future years’ supplies.

Owings said the plan is to plant heirloom cider varieties this winter on a 2-acre research plot behind Staton Farms’ cooler in Flat Rock, aiming to produce fruit within three years. Those apples can then be blended with existing varieties that are sweeter, which Owings said is “the key to coming up with the best flavor.”

“Cider has a lot of growth potential,” Owings said. “I know of three commercial growers that are doing this in a small way, testing it, already. I would say there’s plenty of room for expansion.”

<p>The press is on for cider production in Henderson County. Several local entrepreneurs plan to ferment county apples into hard cider for a thirsty buying public, while other area apple growers look forward to sourcing their crop to a growing craft beverage market.</p><p>One local winery, Saint Paul Mountain Vineyard on Chestnut Gap Road, has already produced 1,000 gallons of fermented cider, using apples pressed by local farmer Wayne Barnwell. They plan to increase production to 3,000 gallons next year and hope other county growers will follow their lead, said owner Alan Ward.</p><p>“There's a lot of potential for people to not just jump in on the gold rush, but to make this area like Vermont, where hard ciders are made correctly,” said Ward, who sees cider-making as an important piece Henderson County's agritourism future.</p><p>As Saint Paul begins bottling their debut batch next weekend, other local growers are investigating their own hard cider operations, looking to tap into a ripening market for adult craft beverages partly brought on by Sierra Nevada and Oskar Blues brewery expansions.</p><p>Mark Williams, executive director of Agribusiness Henderson County, said he's advised a number of county farmers interested in adding value to their crop by turning it into hard cider.</p><p>“I've helped with the initial process to get folks off and running,” Williams said. “We may see two (cider producers) this coming year, and over the next couple of years, we might see potentially as many as half a dozen — some larger, some smaller. There's a learning curve there, as people pursue a new product line.”</p><p>Ralph Webster of Freeman Orchards said his family is considering adding a hard cider operation to their bustling apple orchard, cooler and retail/wholesale business, but has “no formal plans yet.” Webster said a test batch of hard cider they produced turned out “pretty fair.”</p><p>“It would just give us another avenue for our fruit, if that's what we decide on doing,” he said.</p><p>A new company in Asheville, Noble Cider, is already sourcing its apples from county orchards. Co-owner Trevor Baker said the company bought 640 bushels of Henderson County apples last year, producing 2,000 gallons of its kegged Summer Blend. They hope to increase their yield five-fold this year, to 10,000 gallons.</p><p>Baker said he's “committed to buying from Henderson County,” adding he'll need about 150 to 200 bins of processing apples this year. While last spring's crop failure made sourcing difficult, Baker said the company scrounged up enough Mutsu Crispins, Pink Ladies and four other varieties to press a good inaugural run at its small Fletcher facility. </p><p>“People are really loving it,” Baker said, adding that the company can barely keep its seven outlets supplied with enough cider to meet demand.</p><p>This year, he's hoping to find more GoldRush apples, “which has a good balance of acid and sugar and has really good flavor characteristics that transfer well into hard cider.” But he also hopes to develop local sources for heirloom apple varieties not commonly grown for eating or baking, but perfect for cider: Arkansas Blacks, Newtown Pippins and Golden Russets among them.</p><p>“The things we lack around here are the higher-tannin fruits,” Baker said. “There's no one growing hard cider apples in any quantity here. So that's one dilemma we have.”</p><p>Baker, who studied cider-making under British guru Peter Mitchell, is working with Henderson County extension agents to remedy that supply issue. After meeting with the board of the Blue Ridge Apple Growers this spring, Baker and County Extension Director Marvin Owings Jr. brainstormed a plan to grow cider varieties for future years' supplies.</p><p>Owings said the plan is to plant heirloom cider varieties this winter on a 2-acre research plot behind Staton Farms' cooler in Flat Rock, aiming to produce fruit within three years. Those apples can then be blended with existing varieties that are sweeter, which Owings said is “the key to coming up with the best flavor.”</p><p>“Cider has a lot of growth potential,” Owings said. “I know of three commercial growers that are doing this in a small way, testing it, already. I would say there's plenty of room for expansion.”</p><p>Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.</p>